Michelle Malkin: "We need more citizen journalists"



“As of now, this is a no-whine zone,” said Michelle Malkin on Friday at The Constitutional Coalition’s 24^th annual Educational Policy Conference in St. Louis, Mo.

Malkin, a conservative blogger, political commentator and author, said that conservatives need to stop complaining about the mainstream media’s left-wing bias and, instead,  get active and aggressively expose the bias through “new media” like Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Average people like stay-at-home moms are making a difference in how news is being reported and received, she said.

Malkin pointed out that mainstream outlets are no longer gatekeepers of the news and, many times, are forced to cover certain stories due to public outrage on Twitter and Facebook or an article-gone-viral published at a citizen journalist’s blog or YouTube page.

“Think Chick-fil-a or Hobby Lobby -- or the statement that was made in D.C. today by more than half a million pro-lifers,” she said over a room full of cheers, in reference to the record half-million who showed up on the National Mall for the annual Pro-Life March.

Malkin encouraged everyone in the room to join Twitter and Facebook and become “citizen journalists,” reporting on issues mainstream outlets – both local and national – are ignoring. “Blogs are free, Facebook is free, Twitter is free,” said Malkin. “The worst thing we can do at this point is stay silent.”

For instance, although there are many faith-based businesses across the country facing similar ObamaCare hardships as Hobby Lobby, Malkin pointed out, these stories are not gaining traction because they are not high profile like the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts conglomerate.

Malkin encouraged attendees to find out who these companies are in their communities and report on them using various forms of social media.

“I am always looking for new stories on Twitter that need to be brought to the public’s attention,” said Malkin, who has a “Twitter for Grannies” guide on her website, www.Twitchy.com.

In fact, Malkin said she followed a mom who was tweeting from the conference the night before.

Malkin, though lively and energetic, also expressed concerns about what is happening to free speech in America and how it is being inhibited.

“Liberals like to shut you down by scoffing and calling you names . . . I’m sure that by now everyone in this room is familiar with their Alinsky tactics,” she said, referring to the late Saul Alinsky, a 1960s community organizer and author best known for the book, Rules for Radicals, on how to bring about social change by dividing and marginalizing opponents.

Because Alinsky tactics have become commonplace, she explained, many people don’t even realize they’re employing them. “It is another form of bullying,” stated Malkin. “And we’re not going to take it anymore.”

Malkin also said she has been called a “Twinkie” by her liberal counterparts, alluding to being yellow on the outside, and white on the inside; and in 2010, she was called a “bitch” by The View’s Joy Behar for simply not sharing Behar’s view on immigration.

“This is how liberals debate,” she said, “by deploying foul language and racial slurs. So much for the party of tolerance.”

Malkin also pointed to other euphemisms frequently espoused by the left including "homophobe," "Islamophobe," "racist" and "hater" that are being utilized to shame those with different views into silence.

According to her website (http://michellemalkin.com/), Malkin started her newspaper journalism career in 1992 at the Los Angeles Daily News; moved to the Seattle Times in 1995 and has been writing nationally syndicated newspaper columns for Creators Syndicate since 1999.

The daughter of Filipino immigrants, Malkin was born in Philadelphia, Penn., in 1970 and raised in southern New Jersey. She graduated in 1992 with an English degree from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.

Malkin married Jesse D. Malkin (a former liberal) in 1993. They currently reside in Colorado with their two children.